The Gladiator
by jinju
Summary: Naraku is a corrupt king, intent on marrying kagome. Inuyasha is forced to fight other demons as entertainment for naraku, being controlled by the shikon no tama. What happens when he tries to rebel & Kagome comes into the pic? inukag
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

A/N: Hi, first story here, bear with me. ;D

* * *

**GLADIATOR**

Chapter 1

* * *

The arena was filled with shouts of "Kill! Kill!" whilst the king looked on in amusement from his elegant balcony situated over the playing field. Allowing him to get a safe, yet wonderful view of the exciting bloodshed taking place below. The jewels that adorned his hands shined greedily, as well as the ones embossed into his crown of gold. There he sat, in that relaxed posture he always had, amongst the fine furs of his expensive cape. 

The people in the stands were covered with sweat due from the lack of shade, and man, was that sun ever so hot today! Of all days! The day when they got to see "Him" fight!

He fights ever so well, and was most certainly the best entertainment out of all of them. He was the only one who has survived every single battle, and comes back every match practically polished and untouched!

Him, being the Dog-eared hanyou currently battling the ferocious looking ogre down in the arena.

The sun reflected off his brilliant locks of silver hair, as well as the sweat rolling off his tan, toned skin. He had taken off the top of his signature fiery red haori long ago, well, more like the ogre took it off with a swipe of those ridiculously long claws…

Each opponent had their choice of weapon, the hanyou having used his usual rusted katana…but oh looks were deceiving. That katana could transform into a ferocious fang of a sword when he wanted it to…

The battle continued, gashes and blows were exchanged fairly equally throughout the match via claws and inhumanly possible strength.

"KILL HIM INUYASHA! KILL HIM!" shouted a spectator from the audience, if you could call them that…

And so…with his signature smirk and flash of his brilliantly golden eyes, he whipped out his katana. In a blinding flash of light the sword transformed into a magnificent weapon, suitable for a king they say!

"KAZE NO KIZU!" came his battle cry, and with it streaks of demonic power, slicing through his opponent, and effectively ending the match.

The crowd went wild as they heard the ogre's screams of agony before his form quickly turned into a pile of ash.

He had survived another day. He sheathed his sword and was about to head back through the gate, the gate where he comes through nearly twice a week to this. That bloody gate that opens the pathway to what could be his doom.

He looked down at the collar he wore, with that damned black jewel fragment.

If it weren't for that damned jewel he would have left a long time ago. All of the other fighters, well, the ones that were still alive, had one of these collars too...except that Inuyasha's jewel fragment was slightly larger than theirs.

The king couldn't allow him to escape, or rebel as they put it…No..he was the king's most prized possession, his savior from the kingdom's inhabitants.

You see, the king was no good…corrupt they say. How? He lavished himself day by day with whatever his heart desired, while his people toiled in the harsh weather with nothing to look forward to. The taxes were so high, they hardly had enough currency to keep bread on the table.

They had to build this and that, obey everything to the king's whim, and for what?

Nothing.

That is, until about a year ago. The king, Naraku Onigumo is his name, had this arena built in order to host all sorts of battles and bloodshed to entertain them. As long as they had some sort of entertainment to look forward to, there weren't too many complaints about the state of the kingdom.

So when inuyasha was captured and sold to the king, things just got better and better.

He was the crowd favorite, because he never loses to any of the other demons he is put up against. So, since he is the crowd favorite, he was also the king's favorite. The king saw him as a means to keep the kingdom under control, by providing blessed distraction.

Of course, this "blessed distraction" was also a pain in the ass for the hanyou. What the king calls blessed could be stated as pure hell for Inuyasha. This is what he lives for.

That is, until he can figure a way out.

And he swore to himself, that one day, he would.

With that thought in mind, he turned his back on the shouts of the crowd, and continued on his way across the beat-up turf towards the gate.

It was then time for the King to speak.

There he stood, in all of his glory that just reeked of corruption, and opened his mouth to address the spectators.

"As all of you know, my late wife, Kikyo, has passed on quite some time ago, so therefore I have chosen a new bride to carry on with me and my custody of the throne."

Inuyasha paused in his movements to look up at the king's balcony, and stared at him with not so hidden resentment. So…that was why he had to fight today of all days…so all of the people would show up to watch the king gloat about his new choice of wife…figures…the king knew their would be great turnout if he was the one fighting.

He was about to turn and continue his journey to the exit when all of a sudden someone was ushered out onto the balcony. A woman in a dainty blue dress.

There was a sudden silence in the arena as she timidly stepped out into the open for all to see.

Her magnificent raven hair flowed freely in silky tendrils that caressed her curvaceous form to the middle of her back. The skin that was visible took on a delicious porcelain color, contrasting beautifully with her blackest of black hair. The dress she wore revealed a decent amount of her ample bosom, but what stood out most were her eyes.

Her innocent, crystal blue eyes that were like windows to the sky itself.

As everyone took in the sight of her, the king took this opportunity to speak once again, "I am glad to announce that this lovely woman here, Kagome Higurashi, is to be my future wife, therefore your queen. The wedding will take place in two weeks time from today. Until then, plan on enjoying time off to attend a new match everyday, as preparations for the wedding are made," he then looked down at Inuyasha, with a smirk, "and of course, each fight will involve your choice of fighter."

The crowd roared they're excitement, and began to chant "Inuyasha! Inuyasha!"

Said hanyou just looked on with a rather peeved expression, that is until his eyes met with a pair of blue ones.

Their eyes held for what seemed like forever…

That bitch was staring at him! The nerve!

He glared back at her and returned his stare to the king, who was in turn staring down at him, with his greasy, evil looking grin.

"As you wish! Inuyasha it is! Good day to you all!" with that said the king took his leave, dragging the petite woman with him out of sight.

That meant everyone had to go home now, but with a fight to look forward to tomorrow, no one left unhappy.

Inuyasha just snorted and made his way into the dark building. A pair of guards holding whips among a few other choice weapons escorted him through a dimly lit hallway.

A few rats scampered away here and there, but Inuyasha grew accustomed to their coexistence some time ago. They reached a group of cells, each decorated with hideous wrought iron bars. Cages were more like it…cages for wild demons they say.

He was all but thrown into one of them, which he had begun to accept as his home, at least, until he could figure a way out of here. He made no sound of complaint, since his wounds had already healed significantly; there was nothing to cry about being handled as such.

He would never let them have the satisfaction of hurting him anyways. They could piss off for all he cared.

After slamming the bars back into place they snickered at him and went on their way to mess with some of the other cell occupants. They had nothing better to do.

It had been a long day…and his body was still a bit tired from the fight today. So he meandered over to his straw bed, if you could call it such, and off to sleep he went, his last coherent thought being of that woman. What was her name? Kagobae? Kag…Kagome? Yeah…Kagome…she kinda looks like kikyo…except far more innocent. That's probably why the king chose her…

A/N: How'd you like it? Let me know what you think, any improvements and such. Until next time!

-Jinju-


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

A/N: Hope you guys liked the last chapter! Here comes another piece! Enjoy…

* * *

**GLADIATOR**

Chapter 2

* * *

"Kagome! Wake up!" yelled a brown haired maiden. Her brown eyes flashed in annoyance as she stared at the grunting lump twisted amongst the bed sheets.

The lump being Kagome Higurashi.

Kagome moaned her protest at waking up, but eventually obliged. She never really was a morning person…

She sat up, her raven locks a complete mess, going this way and that. Her eyes were still slightly glazed over with sleep as she yawned and looked over at her hand maid, Sango.

Sango had been her personal servant for longer than she could ever remember. Even though she bore the title of a servant, she was no such thing, a sister to Kagome was more like it. They were best friends, and stuck together through thick and thin…

Naraku had spotted Kagome one day out at the big market, and immediately asked her to become his new bride. Kagome was skeptical…even though this was her king, she didn't really want to marry the man…she wanted to marry someone of her own choosing, and this man was not the thing.

She heard of how he treated the peasants, and didn't appreciate it one bit. She also never attended those "matches" that were held in the kingdom's arena. They were pointless right? Well, that's what she thought.

She would have turned him down, but when she talked to her mother about it, she immediately told her to comply with the king's wishes, not for the money, no, but because that if she declined, their lives would probably be on the line to spare the king some of his own pride.

So, here she was, sitting in an enormous bed, in the king's castle, amongst all of this luxury. She really wasn't used to this…and didn't think she ever would be.

"Kagome! Up! Now!" Sango ground out once more between clenched teeth.

Kagome just blinked for all she was worth and then finally opened her eyes completely, "Oh yeah…the match today…I forgot I had to go with the king…"

Sango rolled her eyes as if that was the most obvious statement all morning. "Yes, Kagome, you have to go with the king, which means you have to be dressed like a queen. Here, put this on and I'll work on your hair."

She threw a lavender dress at said girl, who slipped it on in record time. The color really did do wonders for her, making her hair and eyes stand out beautifully.

Sango sat her down in a chair in front of a vanity mirror, and began working out all of the snarls that had crept their way into her hair overnight.

"You know…I really don't want see why I should have to see that match today…its all just a barbaric show of masculinity is it not?"

Kagome watched herself in the mirror as Sango smoothed her natural waves in her hair to where it actually looked quite elegant, how did she do that?

Sango looked at her reflection, "Well…you know what your mother said, if I was you, I would do what the king asks…he doesn't really strike me as flexible you know…"

Kagome just sighed, but put her hand up to stop Sango when she tried to put makeup on her face. She never did like wearing it, what was the point? All it did was ruin your skin anyways.

Two weeks…just two weeks before she is married off to that pig-headed king of theirs. Of course, she would never let him know that was what she thought of him, for fear of him killing her family, and maybe even herself.

She wanted to marry for love! Not to save her behind! How crazy this all is…it was all so strange to her, as if someone just picked her up out of a box chock full of other people, and stuck her in a completely different box.

Well, in a sense…that's basically what really did happen…minus the box part.

Once finished with all the necessary primping, Sango made her way to the kitchens to fetch her lady some breakfast, and off they were to the arena where she would meet up with the king and join him on the balcony.

The arena was already packed, the crowd roaring and ready to get the event underway.

Kagome was ushered through the balcony's entrance and into the presence of Naraku himself.

She took in his dark form. His long dark brown hair mixed with those dark eyes and pale skin made an overall deadly combination. He would be quite the handsome fellow, had it not been for his corruptive ways.

He smirked upon seeing her, and also took in her appearance quite lustfully, which made her involuntarily shiver.

"Well, hello my dear…its nice of you to have joined me out here." He motioned for her to sit down in the ornate chair next to his own, not quite as big, but just as elaborate.

"Have a seat and enjoy the show love." And with that he swept his cape back and leisurely kissed the back of her hand before settling himself in that lazy posture he normally took on.

She stuttered a few thank you's and sat down in her respective seat.

As she did this, the crowd noticed her presence and began shouting. "Cheers to the beautiful queen Kagome Higurashi!"

She blushed quite heavily while Naraku just smirked his satisfaction.

Her attention was drawn down to the arena when she caught sight of a man with silver hair. The same man that had glared at her the other day. Although, come to think of it…he had been covered with blood yesterday, and gashes galore, what happened? How come there were no injuries?

Naraku caught sight of her confused expression, and as if reading her mind, explained.

"That hanyou is called Inuyasha, he is half human and half demon, his demon blood allows him to heal practically overnight. That is what makes him my prize fighter, he can keep coming back for more day by day."

She looked on in wonder and amazement. She just noticed the little dog ears sitting atop Inuyasha's head, she hadn't seen those the other day…"I have never seen a demon before, but that is quite the thing, to be able to heal like that. If he is so powerful as to do such a thing, has he ever tried to leave?"

She was merely curious, not conspiring, this Naraku could tell by her expression. So he decided to tell her his little secret, they were to be wed soon anyhow, so what hurt could it do?

He pulled a little black ball from inside his cape and held it in front of her to see.

The closer it was to her, the sicker she felt, it was like a ball of condensed hatred. It made her uncomfortable so she leaned away from it, but still looked on at it in curiosity.

"This, is the Shikon no Tama, I have removed a few pieces of the jewel and placed them on collars for the demon fighters. As long as I have this jewel, I can suppress their powers enough to control them and keep them from revolting. They still have enough strength to fight each other though, and provide for blissful entertainment, don't you think?"

She looked at him a bit confused still, "Well, I wouldn't know of such entertainment, seeing as I have never attended one of these matches before…"

"Well, you'll soon see my dear, you'll see." He pocketed the jewel once more and turned to face the arena, here comes the second fighter.

Kagome's face scrunched up as a huge, hairy, wolf-like demon made its way into the ring. She was beginning to worry for the small man known as Inuyasha, but was stunned when she saw him just stand there quite leisurely smirking, whilst cracking his knuckles.

It was customary protocol for the king and queen to stand and acknowledge the fighters and signal for the fight to begin.

So the two on the balcony stood as the fighters looked up to them for the gesture to start.

And once again, Kagome's eyes locked with Inuyasha's. Save for the fact that he was glaring rather pointedly at her, and she was merely staring out of curiosity.

She couldn't tear her eyes from him, and was saved when Naraku waved his hand for the battle to begin.

What happened next shocked poor Kagome to death.

Blood…

Tons of blood…

…flew through the air quickly as the wolf demon sliced Inuyasha's chest open.

The blood continued to splatter everywhere as the wolf demon continued his bloody assault on the hanyou, raking his claws onto every bit of Inuyasha's body.

After what seemed like a one-sided fight, Inuyasha suddenly retaliated, and the crowd went crazy. Using his speed and strength combined, he managed to knock the big oaf over and land a few good blows.

The fight dragged on as Kagome stared in open-mouthed horror.

How could people watch this? For fun no less?...

What is the world becoming these days? She wanted to just get up and leave but she wasn't allowed to. She was obligated to sit here and watch with the king.

Finally, as if bored with the fight, Inuyasha lazily whipped out his trusty sword once more.

"KAZE NO KIZU!" he yelled his finishing move, and once again his opponent was turned into nothing but ash as the crowds cheered him on for his victory.

He smirked as he wiped the blood from his chin with the back of his arm, and hefted his sword onto his good shoulder. He turned to the king, trying to look as intimidating as he could with all of his sustained injuries, but the king just smirked down at him, as if daring him to do something.

What he saw next took him by surprise. That dumb bitch looked horrified! Her eyes watered with pity, and he hated pity…but it was nonetheless a surprise coming from her.

Didn't she find this all to be fun and games?

Everyone else seems to think of it like that.

He strained his ears toward her when he saw her move her mouth to begin talking.

"Is no one going to tend to his injuries? Is this even allowed? What of the other demon, he has been killed!" she all but rambled on.

Inuyasha listened with disgust as Naraku supplied her with his distasteful answers.

"Now now, dear, as I've told you before, these are demons we are dealing with. Those injuries will be gone by tomorrow morning, and of the other demon, it was his own fault that he died. He didn't give it his all in battle and therefore did not deserve to live." He finished, but Kagome still looked on in shock.

What the hell does she care? She's marrying that ass of a man Naraku, so shouldn't she think the same way as him?

He watched her pace along the balcony, making her lavender dress swish about. He kept staring as if in a trance, before shaking his head and grumbling to himself as he made his way to the exit once more, limping as he went.

As Kagome watched the hanyou limp out of the arena, a tremendous wave of pity washed over her. She would go and tend to his wounds later, there was nothing wrong with that right? So long as no one knew about it.

Later that night….

Making sure the guards were gone, she made her way down the rat infested halls towards the cell block, using a torch to light her way. She had told the guards that they could take the rest of the day off, and offered to deliver the keys to the next shift workers for them.

Of course, they happily agreed to this, how often did they get to go home early?

Once she reached the cells, she gazed through the atrocious iron bars in search of the hanyou they call Inuyasha.

What she saw made her heart sink; so many demons were locked up, more like cooped up, in these cells, and for what?

To kill each other.

Most of them were asleep, but the few that were awake acknowledged her presence with widened eyes.

"Mistress, what may I ask are you doing here of all places?" one of the demons spoke, quite politely.

"I am here to tend to the demon Inuyasha's wounds. They looked rather terrible after his fight today…" the demon looked at her in astonishment, "I also brought some food with me, my personal maid told me of the conditions down here, and I am dreadfully sorry…all I can offer is food, water, and cleaning your wounds…"

The demon gave her a weak smile, "My lady, it is not your fault that we are here, but I greatly appreciate what you are doing. If Naraku finds out about it he might have your head…"

She nodded, but brushed off that statement as she slipped him some food and clean water. Who would have known how polite these demons were, even more so than most of the humans she knew!

He graciously accepted her offering and pointed her towards Inuyasha's personal cell.

Along the way she stopped to talk with a few other demons, offering them a share of the food and water she brought with her.

When she reached last cell on the right, she noted that this was the one that kind demon said Inuyasha was in.

She shivered involuntarily as a pair of golden eyes penetrated her from in the darkness.

"What do _you_ want?" came a rough, masculine voice.

"Are you Inuyasha?" she asked, but got no answer, so she lifted her torch up to get a better look and confirmed that it was him.

"I'm here to clean your wounds…" she smiled at him, trying to be pleasant enough to get him to open up to her like all the other demons had.

All, she got was a grunt in reply, so she took that as his consent to come in. She had to admit that she was a little scared, after seeing what he could do in that fight, what if he turned on her?

She pushed her fears to the back of her mind and followed through with what she had planned as she pulled out the keys to his cell.

He just sat there on his makeshift straw bed, as she swept open the cell door, set her torch in a holder on the wall, and made her way over to him.

The scent of roses suddenly swept over him as she kneeled down before him.

He continued to stare at her, a little less crossly then before, but kept up the scowl that adorned his face.

"I need you to remove your top if you would please…" she said as she blushed, it might have been dark, but the light in the cell was bright enough to where he could see it.

He just grunted as a reply and stripped himself of his top, propping himself up against the wall.

She swallowed the lump in her throat that had form at the sight of his muscular chest.

The large gash that once adorned his chest was still there, but it was much smaller than before. Nonetheless, she began to work on it immediately.

She cleansed the area before beginning to massage some ointment onto his chest, and couldn't help but relish in the feel of his hard physique.

What was the matter with her? She had never felt this way before about anyone, so why now? She just laughed at herself and figured she was just imagining things. Then she noticed the black jewel fragment hanging around his neck, so that was what Naraku was on about earlier?

She was about to apply some salve when the hanyou spoke. "Are you done yet wench?"

Her face flushed red with irritation. Here she was helping him, and he calls her a wench? Not really what she would call a thank you, but she took it nonetheless, she didn't blame him for being a jerk.

After all, who wouldn't be under these conditions?

So instead of lashing out like normal, she calmly replied, "Just let me get you some fresh bandages and you'll be all done." Once again, there came a grunt as his reply.

After that rude question, she began feeling a bit antsy in his presence, so she worked a bit quicker than before.

Once finished she stood up and told him to help himself to the food and water she brought.

She made her way out of the cell when she heard him scoff. After shutting the door she looked at him.

He just stared at the food, and then looked up at her irritably. "I don't need your pity bitch…"

That was the last straw, "I don't know you very well, and so thus far have kept my calm! If all you can do is call me names after offering my help, then fine, you can just be that way you pig-headed jerk!" she huffed before finishing, "and my name is Kagome, not bitch!"

He got up angrily, and in a flash had her yanked up against his body, the only thing separating them were the bars of cold iron.

"Listen here bitch, I didn't ask you for help, you came here on your own accord. If I wanted help, I would ask for it, but I'll tell you this, I don't need your help, or anyone else's for that matter, got it?" he ground out between clenched teeth.

She gulped when she caught sight of his fangs, and shivered when his hot breath rolled off the sensitive skin of her neck.

But what was this? Something was giving off a pulse? She looked down at the jewel fragment on his neck and watched in astonishment as the tip of it had began to turn a light pink color.

Inuyasha seemed to have noticed too and looked at her, this time with curious eyes. "Who the hell are you?..." he murmured. He felt as if his strength had doubled, and realized that the jewel was suppressing his powers as much as it usually did.

She finally jerked away from him, taking hold of what little dignity she had left at the moment, and huffed out loud.

"You sir, are crazy…" she said airily.

He noticed that when she moved away the jewel turned black once again.

"Even though you were mean to me, I still encourage you to eat the food I brought you. It's the least I could do for you after having that gory battle earlier. Since you said you don't want my help, I will leave you alone from now on. Good night Inuyasha."

With that she turned and stalked off, not looking back at him.

Silence once again blanketed the cell block…

He just stood there at the bars, staring in the direction of where that woman had walked off, before one of the other demons broke the silence.

"You know young one, you should take help and support from others when you are given it, especially when you are in the position you are now. Seldom do you get a second chance once you turn your head away from it…"

Inuyasha just shook his head and snorted, "I don't need help from anyone, got that old man? That bitch is the king's soon to be wife, soon she'll be just as corrupt as him."

The other demon chuckled at the naiveté in the hanyou's words. "Dear boy, you wouldn't know a ticket to the promised land if it smacked you in the face it seems. Just pray that mistress gives you a second chance."

Inuyasha just grunted his reply again, and began to wolf down the food that bitch brought. It was pretty tasty come to think of it…and his wounds did feel a lot better…

Eh, what did it matter, he would just fight again tomorrow and go hungry once more.

He didn't want food and water, he wanted freedom.

And he would do anything to attain that…

* * *

A/N: So, how was this one? Please R&R, let me know what you think :

Until next time!

-Jinju-


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

A/N: Glad to see you all liked the last chapter. Sorry this one is a lot shorter, I'll make it up to you! I think I'm sick off of pancakes; I just got back from IHOP with my friend, and stuffed my face with strawberry covered pancakes…while she sat there and tossed fries on the floor and drank 5 jugs of coffee o.o;;

* * *

**GLADIATOR**

Chapter 3

* * *

"Damn it, you bastard! Die Already!" 

A huge scorpion demon with a humanoid face hissed in reply to Inuyasha's shouting, all the while letting acid spew from its mouth onto the battlegrounds of the arena.

Inuyasha charged towards the weak spots between the scorpion's armor like shell, slicing through it easily with the help of his sword.

As he cut through it, some more poisonous acid poured from the flesh wounds and burned Inuyasha's already damaged chest and arms, but he kept on going, until he sliced all the way through.

Although the scorpion was sliced into bits, it still managed to move, so he quickly finished it off before it could regenerate.

"TAKE THIS YOU BASTARD! KAZE NO KIZU!" he cried out, effectively vanquishing the arachnid via his katana, like usual...

These daily battles were beginning to take their toll on the hanyou…he was actually exhausted…sure, he was fine the day after that wench had come to bandage him up, but she hasn't come to speak to him since.

So, his wounds heal, but not completely, they just get reopened day after day…Naraku seems to have noticed this and found it amusing.

Inuyasha may have been his prize fighter, but Naraku absolutely hated him.

Probably because he knows that if given the chance, the hanyou would slice him into pieces!

He chanced a look up at the balcony, where Kagome was sitting. She looked as if she had spaced out, trying not to pay attention to the previous battle.

"Keh…stupid wench…acting all _noble_ and shit." He muttered to himself.

Later that night…

Naraku sat at the head of the lengthy dining table filled with nobles and the like, with Kagome adjacent to him. She never really spoke during dinner, and he never really spoke to her much either…he would just stare at her now and then.

How awkward for someone to spontaneously propose to a woman and then not say so much as a word at the dinner table! Maybe he was having second thoughts…oh how she wished he was!

"Kik- I mean Kagome…where have you been going off to the past few nights?"

Kagome mentally flinched at hearing the accusatory tone in his dark voice. Wait, did he almost just call her Kikyo? It all makes sense now…that's why he wanted her so quickly…everyone told her she was the spitting image of Kikyo…save for the eyes and wavy hair…

"Umm, I've just been taking walks around the grounds, trying to learn my way around you see…" she stuttered.

He slanted a look at her as he took a bite of his dinner. Once finished chewing he set down his silverware and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Ah…I see…if you happen to stroll past those demons be careful…they aren't all what they seem…they'll trick you if given the chance."

Her eyes widened by a fraction, how did he know? He gives her the creeps, but of course, she would never say that out loud…and how right he was…those demons weren't ferocious like everyone thought they were…they were kind.

If all you could do to see another day alive is to fight, then, that's what you would do, right? That's how it is for them…they bear no grudges…they just pray that they last long enough to see the next day.

Besides…_he_ seemed to be the trickster around here if you asked her…

"I-I see…" she acknowledged.

So they continued on with their supper in silence. Kagome, being completely weirded out by her fiancé, excused herself once she was finished.

So what if he knows…she would continue her trips to the cell block anyways…until she could figure out a way to help out those nice demons, she would give them food and water, and conversation…that's better than nothing right?

Especially if they might not survive the next day…

She didn't bother to change out of her blue evening gown, it was quite comfortable…it had a nice slit along the side to allow for better mobility than most of her other dresses. So she could move much more quickly if someone happened to spot her.

She had been walking down the corridors for some time before she spotted who she was looking for.

"Here Kagome, I got the basket of supplies ready for you!" Sango whispered to her as she handed her a rather large wicker basket overflowing with food, pouches of water, and some medical supplies if needed.

"Thank you so much Sango, I don't know how you do it, but thank you either way!" she offered her thanks.

Sango slightly blushed as she gave her friend a hug, "Well, I had some help from a servant named Miroku…"

Kagome studied her face for a second but didn't say anything besides, "Well, then give this man my personal thanks."

And off she went to the cell block!

* * *

A few rats squeaked their protest at the intruder, but she didn't really care… the guards were all out with the king tonight, he needed extra security seeing as he was going into one of the towns he said. So the coast was clear of those pig-heads. 

She made her way towards the cell of the first demon she ever spoke to, she loved talking to him now and then, he was great company, save for the iron bars that separated them…she didn't have the keys tonight since the guards were already gone when she got there…

"Hello my lady, its nice to see you again…" he smiled at her contentedly.

She bobbed her head in agreement and gave him her usual offering of food and water. They talked here and there before she moved down the cell block, doing the same for the other demons.

When she arrived at the end however, she pointedly ignored that Inuyasha fellow...he had nothing good to say anyhow. He just did his usual staring, or rather, glaring at her. She could feel it on her back.

"Oi! Wench!" came his gruff comment, he growled irritably when she refused to turn around. "I know you can hear me! OI!" she stiffened visibly, but still didn't acknowledge him.

He muttered a string of colorful curses before propping himself up against the wall with a wince. Damn…these injuries really hurt…

He stopped his mental complaints when he caught sight of her legs as she bent over to grab some food from that big basket of hers…

She kept ignoring him and talking to the demon in the cell across from him…

What's a nice pair of kicks doing on that _brat _of a woman anyhow?...

Damn it…she was being nice to everyone but him…and he felt left out…but he didn't know why.

She knew he was still staring at her, so she continued on with her pleasant conversation to sort of rile him anyhow…that was until he did the unexpected…

"Oi…Kagome…" he said softly.

She whirled around and saw him wince in the torch light. She took in the sight of his pained posture and immediately felt horrible for ignoring him…she excused herself from her current conversation and strode over to Inuyasha's cell bars.

"Yes Inuyasha?..." she looked at him kindly, and in that moment had forgotten of all the mean things he had said to her previously…all that she could think of was the fact that he had just said her name…

He blushed slightly…how would he ask her?...

"Would you…would you mind tending my wounds?" came the soft request. That scowl he usually had was long gone, only to be replaced by a hesitant expression, as if he was scared she would refuse….who could do such a thing?

Oh! For the love of….the night she needed those keys most! What to do…

"I would if I could…but I'm afraid I don't have the keys…"she replied softly…it grew quiet for a few seconds before she came to a solution. "Do you think you could come over here? There is enough room for me to work between the bars…it would take a little longer, but it would do, if you want…"

She didn't want him to come over to her if it pained him, but he obliged, surprisingly.

She helped him strip his top as much as she could with those bars in her way, and began to clean him up.

"You have some pretty nasty wounds here…how do you manage?..." she muttered softly, paying special attention to that large gash on his throat.

When she began cleansing the area on his throat, she felt that strange pulse again.

But what surprised her was when the gash had begun to quickly seal itself up!

He felt it again, he felt like his powers were returning. It had to be her, she was doing it…she must be purifying the jewel…

He looked up at her to see the surprise in her eyes…so she didn't know huh?...

He didn't say anything, and decided to let her keep on, and so he could see where things would go if this were the case.

"I manage because I don't really feel like dying. I don't plan on staying here for the rest of my life either. You can have my head for me saying this if you want, but your fiancé can kiss my ass. I plan to make him do so once I escape anyhow, that or just slice him to bits."

To his surprise, she just laughed and said she would love to see that. "I look forward to that day then, sir Inuyasha."

He stared at her face for sometime, observing how her silky hair coiled about her face, framing her porcelain skin.

"You mean, you don't want to marry him?"

"Oh gods no," she laughed, " he just picked me up off the streets basically and proposed to me. I now know it was because of my resemblance to his recent wife, Kikyo."

He growled at that name. "Kikyo was a bitch. She deserved to die…"

She gasped at his choice of words, "Even if she was a mean woman, no one deserves to die. What did she do that was so bad?"

He sighed as she continued massaging ointment onto his chest, he could get used to that… "She was no better than Naraku…treated us all like dogs,-"

"But you are a dog aren't you?" she interrupted.

He snorted, "LIKE I WAS SAYING, she treated us BADLY, and only saw us as pawns in a game. She loved the matches…and she would schedule them whenever she could…it was like rushing us all to our dooms as fast as she could."

"That is rather horrible…maybe it is a good thing she is gone then…I'm sorry but I need you to sit up some so I can bandage you up."

He did so without complaint, he was feeling great! He felt as if he could jump over a mountain…for once he was thankful for receiving help…

"So…does your jewel tend to turn pink now and then?" she asked out of curiosity.

He looked down to see that half of the jewel had turned pink.

"No…this is only the second time it's done that. I'm not really sure why yet…"

He wasn't ready to share his thoughts on the matter yet.

"Oh I see…well, you're all done now. Sorry it took so long…I didn't have the keys…so-"

"Its ok….thanks.." he interrupted softly.

She almost didn't hear him when he said thanks…her eyes widened at his kindness. "Well, I should be going now. My friend is probably worried sick. Try not to move so much or those wounds will reopen. Here is some food and water, please take them, even though you said you don't need them.."

He just nodded his head as she slipped him some of the supplies and watched her stand to leave.

"Good night Inuyasha…good night everyone!"

"Goodnight Lady Kagome!" all of the demons chorused.

As she left the jewel fragment on Inuyasha's neck grew dark once more, bringing a heavy feeling with it. He no longer felt like he could jump a mountain…he felt like shit. That woman…there's just something about her…

Inuyasha stared at her retreating form… "Good night…Kagome…"

* * *

A/N: Im glad to see that people are taking time to review my work. It makes me happy : I'm also surprised that I even have three chapters out already, haha. Its all for you my dears, ;D 

Until next time!

-Jinju-


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

A/N: I'm baaaaaack…..Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews.

* * *

**GLADIATOR**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_**A few days later…**_

Here she was once again, down in the cell block, tending to the youkai. Kagome couldn't keep her mind off the fact that she would be married in two days…

She would do anything not to be stuck in a half-hearted relationship with that madman Naraku, but it seems that is what fate has in store for her. The wedding arrangements were going off without a hitch, much to her disappointment…

Ugh, this means she would have to kiss that foul man, in front of everyone no less…

"Hey, Kagome, you there?! Oi!" she looked at Inuyasha leaning against his cell bars in his casual manner like always.

"Really now Inuyasha, there's no need to yell…I was just thinking to myself. Now, how about those wounds…?" she asked as she made her way over to him with her supplies.

He just grunted in reply, like usual…it seems he would never truly warm up to her, which was also, much to her disappointment…she began working on his wounds, and as predicted, the jewel around his neck began to turn a bright pink.

It was about time he said something to her about it. Kagome made a small sound of protest as he propped himself up against one of the closer walls, reopening some of the wounds she was applying salve to.

"Inuyasha, don't move anymore, now I'll have to redo some of these…" she clucked her tongue in pretend annoyance.

"Kagome..?" he began, not really knowing how to say what he had to say…well…now the balls rolling, might as well keep pushing it eh? She made a small mew sound at the back of her throat to acknowledge she had heard him.

The sound was very pleasant to him…very, sensual in a sense…wait, he had to get his mind back on track!

"I know this is crazy, but umm, whenever you're around, my jewel shard seems to be purifying itself…and I feel like myself again…" he started off slowly. She immediately looked up at him, seemingly very satisfied.

"I suppose I was right then, I was going to ask you about that myself, but I wasn't sure…now I'm positive I could help you escape from here!" her excitement was just bubbling over, and it seemed to be spilling onto him, to his dismay, but it just felt so contagious… he would never let her see it though, of course.

She was back to working on his wounds, but now her brows were knitted together and her lips pursed as she was in deep thought. He couldn't help but adore the way she looked at the moment. He was snapped back to reality when she suddenly looked up at him.

"Tomorrow night Inuyasha," her expression was clearly very serious, all his attention was on her, "tomorrow night I will sneak into the cell block again and get you out of here…I'm sure if I just hold onto your shard until its completely purified, I can remove it, and then you'll be free!" she grinned, practically ear-to-ear.

He was a little shocked; she really wanted to set him free? Just one more day…and he would be_** free**_! "Kagome…"

_But what about Kagome?_

What would she do then? She would be married to that bastard while he was off frolicking around being free he supposed… it was like a trade…his freedom, for her captivity, as in being trapped in an ugly matrimony from hell…

"I'll free the others as well, the guards will be gone, dealing with last preparations for the…" she visibly shuddered, "…wedding…so I can get down here no problem with the help of my maid, Sango. I'm sure that when your powers return to you, you will be able to escape without any problems at all, right?"

He nodded quite forcefully, making her giggle at the sight. She explained to him the extent of her plans as she continued to work on his wounds.

She figured, Naraku would be too busy with the wedding to notice their escape, and maybe even after the ceremony, when he finds out the demons were missing, he might not care anymore altogether. The guards would definitely be away from their posts, and the hand maids will think she is asleep, she needs her beauty rest for the big day, well, that's what they thought….

If she freed him tonight, chances of him being discovered or spotted were very high…so they had to wait…

"I will be here no later than the ninth stroke of the bell tower, if I do not show up, then something must have happened, but I can almost guarantee you that I will be here, and then I will purify all of your shards, and set you free. I will obtain the keys to your cells with the help of a man named Miroku, I will ask him to guide you all out of here until the coast is clear, do you understand?"

Inuyasha once again nodded furiously, after silence overtook them for a bit, he couldn't help but to ask… "What about you?..."

All of her movements came to a screeching halt, and he heard her sharp intake of breath. She then slowly looked up at him, right into his eyes. "Don't worry about me, I'm sure all will be fine. I'm doing what I believe is right…that's all that matters. You deserve to be free, it is your god-given right. If I can help you in any way, then ill do it…gladly.."

They just stared at each other in silence for what seemed like forever until Kagome finally managed to look away, hiding the blush beginning to rise on her cheeks. She quickly managed to bandage her up, and repeat the instructions one last time, before heading out.

Everyone bid their good nights and thank-you's as she walked by, telling them of her plans as she went down the line.

Once he couldn't hear her voice anymore, Inuyasha realized he was holding his breath.

By god…tomorrow night he would be free…he would never come back to this fucking hell-hole ever again…just one more day…it would be perfect…tomorrow there will be no match since the wedding is well underway, so he should be completely healed by then just in case something happened…

The corner of his mouth drew up into a smirk, yes, tomorrow will be his day. Naraku would finally pay. That bastard….

**_The next day..._**

"Miroku, please! My lady needs this to be done by tonight, I'll do _anything_!" Sango cried, gripping the forearms of a young man with his hair tied back into a tiny ponytail at the base of his neck.

For the briefest moments a certain look crossed over his features, but it was gone as quick as it had come… "Then, you wouldn't refuse me if I asked you…" he got down on his knee as he clasped his hands together over hers.

Her breath caught in her throat…could he be…is he going to ask her to…? Her cheeks began to glow bright red, as she stood there in shock, looking down at him.

He looked into her eyes, "Sango…would you do me the honor of…." She gasped, "…bearing my child?"

He was on the floor before he knew what hit him.

"You lecher! No more nice lady, you either do what I asked you to do, or you wont be able to ask anyone to bear your child ever again, seeing as how it wouldn't be quite possible, if you know what I mean…" she glared down at him rather darkly.

He audibly gulped as he nodded his head up and down so furiously that it appeared as if his head would fall off. "Y-Yes Sango dear…anything for you and the lady Kagome!" he exalted.

Sango dusted her hands off as well as smoothed some imaginary wrinkles in her yukata, and with a curt nod of her head she turned and marched away, leaving the man named Miroku to stare at her back in wonder. "That woman sure can pack a punch…"

_**Later that afternoon…**_

"Ugh, Sango, this is all so tiring! I never knew that getting married would be this crazy!" Kagome complained, after having batted away those pesky hand maids, bantering her into picking the color of the napkins that would be used in the reception hall.

Really now, was there even a difference in the colors cream or eggshell?!! She didn't think so, but the maids insisted that there was…she must be color-blind or something…but she highly doubted that was the case.

"No wonder they say I need my beauty sleep…I don't think I could ever wake up after enduring this chaos!!"

Sango giggled at her Lady as she began to pull at her hair in frustration. "Now now Kagome…no need to pull your hair out, you don't want to go bald now do you?"

Kagome let out a huff, "You know, I suppose maybe I should pull my hair out more, and go completely bald, so then Naraku wouldn't want to marry me anymore…what do you say? Sounds like a plan to me…"

Sango laughed harder, but this time Kagome joined in. The maids began filtering out of her bedroom chambers, it was time for her to sleep.

An anxious feeling was beginning to build itself in the corners of her gut as she thought of what was soon to take place… what if she got caught?

At this point, she didn't really care…she looked out of her window to the great bell tower that stood some ways away. She had heard the eighth bell stroke some time ago…

As if on cue, there was a knock on her door, Sango opened it to reveal none other than Miroku.

"My lady, I am here to escort you…" he bowed his head in respect before presenting to her the cell keys.

She gasped in excitement, "Miroku-sama… you have no idea how much this means to me…thank you…I owe you so much…"

He just shook his head at this, "No no my lady, you owe this servant nothing. Let us be going now, the night is young and everyone else is in their chambers. Now is our chance to go unseen…"

Both of the women nodded and followed the servant as he made his way down to the cell block, making sure to check the hallways before turning this way and that.

Just when the sound of the great bell reached their ears, they had arrived at their destination. The youkai were becoming restless, but said their greetings just the same as always.

Kagome started with the first cell, the old demon made his way over to her as she entered his cell, and placed her hand over his shard. It didn't take that long, seeing as how it wasn't that big, until the shard simply came off.

The youkai's eyes widened as he felt himself gain his own power back, and couldn't keep himself from engaging the lady in a heartfelt hug of gratitude. Kagome could do nothing more than smile and return the gesture, before making her way down the cell block, repeating the same process.

Finally, she had reached the end of the cells, the already freed youkai watched and waited as she opened the last cell, Inuyasha's cell…

There he was, propped up against the wall as usual, as if nothing was happening out of the ordinary. She made her way over to him and as he looked up at her, she gave him her warmest smile, before reaching for his shard.

It took a lot longer than it had the others; his shard was bigger and seemed to carry more negative energy within it. It had actually begun to hurt her arm, she felt the negative energy pulsing in her forearm, and grimaced at the painful sensations that it began inflicting on her.

She felt something warm on her arm and she cracked her eyes open to see Inuyasha's hand resting on the arm she was using to purify his shard. That was all the encouragement she needed as she continued to endure the pain until the shard finally fell off with a great crackle of energy. She picked it up at once and placed it in a small pouch she had brought and contained all the other shards in it.

"I- I'm…actually free…" the hanyou stammered.

Kagome was a little spent on her energy, but managed a small smile at his revelation. "Yes Inuyasha, your free…now go with the others and Miroku will guide you safely off the grounds. He is the man dressed in purple with the staff up there…" she pointed to the young man that was talking with a few of the demons.

He nodded as he stood up with her and walked out towards the group of demons.

Kagome gave a curt nod to Miroku, signaling that she was finished. "Alright then, everyone follow me, don't stray, and try to be as quiet as possible!" he ordered.

The group of demons and the few humans made their way out of the cell block and out into the night. They were growing restless, they're absolute freedom was imminent, they could feel it.

Once they had reached the point of safety, the demons said their goodbyes to Kagome and the other two humans, and dashed off at blinding speeds into the night.

Inuyasha was the last one to go. He seemed unsure of himself as he approached Kagome, but managed to stutter a few words. "Umm…I guess this is goodbye…"

She made that cute little mew sound again, and this time he couldn't keep himself from purring his contentment at hearing it. She giggled at the sound; it was more like a cat than a dog if you asked her.

She took a step towards him and stuck out her hand for a goodbye handshake. After a moment of silence he also stepped forward and took her outstretched hand.

That's when he took her by surprise.

He quickly pulled her into a hug, and her eyes widened with pleasure at the gesture of affection coming from the seemingly cold hanyou…

She could definitely get used to this…too bad she would never see him again after this.

He slowly pulled back, much to her dismay, "Goodbye Kagome…thanks…" he began to back away.

"Anytime Inuyasha…stay out of trouble for me, and be sure to follow your heart, especially since now you have the option of choosing to do so or not…" she answered back, waving goodbye.

He gave her one of his signature smirks as he turned around and began bounding off to kami knows where.

That's it…

It's done…

They're free.

Then why does she feel sad inside?

Kagome sighed as she turned around and motioned for her friends to follow. She supposed now was the time to get that famed beauty rest all of the maids were talking about….

_**The next day…**_

She was mere milliseconds away from backhanding the woman that kept on fussing with her hair, it looked just fine!! Why must she continue to torture her?!!

"Kagome!" her head snapped up and around to focus on the voice of Sango, who had just walked into the preparation room.

She glared dagger at all of the other maids in the room, until they all finally took the hint and filed out on their own accord. Once they were gone Sango focused once again on her best friend. "Kagome….you look absolutely beautiful…" she exclaimed as she took in the pearl adorned wedding dress that ornamented the soon-to-be queen's figure.

Her makeup was light, but very tasteful. The sapphires in her tiara made her eyes stand out quite boldly against the cream of her dress, which showed a modest amount of her bosom at the neckline made of pearls.

She was absolutely stunning.

"Sango…I don't want to go through with this…" Kagome sighed, letting her shoulders slump a little in defeat.

Her mind kept going back to last night when Inuyasha had hugged her.

"I'm sorry Kagome…but its time for you to go now…he's waiting at the altar." She replied regretfully as she pulled the veil of Kagome's tiara over her face.

Kagome could feel the sting of tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes, but quickly wiped them away as she made her way out and onto the aisle.

The aisle…the road to her doom. Within minutes she would be trapped within an agreement to stand by this man at all times. To do as he wished…to be his…wife…oh how cruel fate was.

She kept telling herself to look at the bright side…she would be queen after this. She could possibly make an impact on how the kingdom is run, and help those misfortunate families out there…

She held her head up high, and began to make her way down the aisle. All eyes were on her, captivated by her grace and beauty as her fluid movements led her to the platform next to her husband-to-be.

Everything was fast becoming a blur as the priest began talking. She could see the lust forming on Naraku's countenance as he took in the sight of her from the corner of his eyes.

The priest politely coughed. She looked up, wondering what could be the matter. He looked down at her expectantly, it was her turn to say her vows…to pledge herself to this man indefinitely…

Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink at her embarrassment at being caught not paying attention to her own wedding. She nodded her head at the priest and turned to look at her imminent husband.

After a second of searching her mind for what she had practiced saying to him, she opened her mouth to begin her share of the vows.

That's when it happened.

The wall to her left exploded and in came a furious wind, flinging things about. Kagome raised her arm in front of her face to shield her from the debris of the explosion. Most of the nobles that happened to be sitting next to that particular wall didn't quite make it…

All she heard was something akin to a growl before she was swept up into a pair of strong arms. Then she not only heard it, but felt it, the growl that is. It was beginning to vibrate the very frame of her body.

Within mere seconds, the rest of the sanctuary lay in ruins, Naraku was nowhere to be found when she finally cracked her eyes open.

As soon as she was about to look up at her savior she watched the world begin to blur around her, then she realized she was moving, really, really, really fast….

She forced her head up against the wind pushing down on her as her veil flew away from her face.

She audibly gasped at the sight.

_Inuyasha…_

_He had come for her…_

She watched as he continued to look ahead, clearly focused on getting to his destination, wherever that may be…

All she could do was sit back and enjoy the ride…

* * *

A/N: Yes yes, I know…I have been gone for a while. But hopefully this lengthy chapter makes up for it, ne? Read and review please, the more you review, the more likely I'll update. I need to know if this story is even worth your time. 

Until next time!

-Jinju-


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

A/N: Yay, its fall break! Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews.

* * *

**GLADIATOR**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

She had fallen asleep long ago, watching the world go by in a huge blur was rather nauseating after a while…. 

When she finally decided to wake up, she found herself peering into darkness.

Had she gone blind?

She kept trying to calm herself as she frantically tried to grope for some kind of solid structure other than the ground. She eventually ended up bumping her head as a result of her efforts, and fell on her behind with a small whimper of dismay.

"Oi, don't be moving around so much like that, you look like a chicken with its head cut off…"

Her head snapped to the direction in which she had heard the voice.

_Inuyasha…_

"Inu…Inuyasha? Where are we?..." she managed to stammer.

Her eyes were finally beginning to adjust to the darkness, it was still fairly dark, but she managed to make out the glow of the hanyou's amber orbs coming towards her. She felt his breath on her cheeks as he made to sit in front of her.

"Keh! Are you blind or something? We're in a cave genius." She watched his eyes roll upwards in annoyance.

"Well, I'm sorry, but have you forgotten…I'm a meager human and cannot see in the dark as well as you can?..." she bit back at his retort.

She heard him scuffle away from her to another part of the cave they were situated in.

"Well, I didn't want to light a fire in case any soldiers would be out here looking for us…unless you want to be discovered and taken back there??"

Was it just her or did he sound a little uncertain when he asked that last part?...

"No, I don't exactly want to go back there…I would rather die here in this shabby cave than go back to that foul man. He lusts for me, I could see it in his eyes at the altar…"

She was slightly taken aback when she heard a low growl, but then realized it was coming from Inuyasha…

What's his problem…?

He was staring at her through the blanket of darkness, she could feel it…

Suddenly she was overcome with a wave of shivers. "Inuyasha…do you think we could make a fire just for a little bit? I'm getting really chilly, and I don't want to catch cold…"

"Keh….stupid humans and their stupid weaknesses…I don't know how your race managed to survive this long…" he muttered under his breath, but still loud enough for her to hear, "Fine, I'll make a damn fire, ya happy?"

She sounded her contentment at his agreement and smiled even though she figured he couldn't see her.

There was that damn noise again…that noise she makes in the back of her throat, it drove him crazy… "What're you smiling like that for?"

Surprised he could see her grinning, she wiped the smile off her face just as quickly as it had come. "I was just grateful that you even care…"

"I'm just returning the favor girl, don't look too much into it…" he muttered.

Oh, so now they were back to first base again eh? He doesn't want to use her name anymore it seems…oh well, she could stand it for now.

Silence washed over her as soon as Inuyasha had left the cave in search of wood, but it didn't last too long as he was back in mere minutes.

After several moments of shuffling and scraping noises the cave was bathed in a warm glow.

Inuyasha stood there bent over the fire, wiping his brow. She couldn't help but admire his rough physique as she watched him poke at the ever growing embers of the fire.

She looked down and realized she was still in her wedding gown, only now there were a few choice rips and tears, one of the bigger ones being right through her neckline, letting more than half of her left breast show.

She quickly moved to cover herself up, in an attempt to preserve some of her dignity, as her body grew hot with embarrassment.

"Keh, it's not like I was looking anyways…" she turned away from him, still swimming in shame when he threw the top of his haori at her.

She pulled it to her chest as she stared at him questioningly, "Whats this-"

"You must be uncomfortable in that dress, you can change into that if you want…" he cut her off, staring at her.

"Oh…thank you…" she was about to start removing her dress, but stopped when she realized he was still openly staring at her.

Several coughs later he was still staring at her.

"Ahem…could you please turn around?!" she nearly yelled at him.

He muttered a string of colorful curses under his breath as he made to turn around.

Starting with her tiara, she disentangled it along with her veil from her windblown hair. She had slipped out of her underskirts but was stopped when she tried to remove the actual gown itself. She couldn't reach the fastenings in the back…

"Umm…Inuyasha…?"

"Are you done yet?" He turned around to see her still in her gown, "What are you doing? I thought you were changing?"

"I _am_ changing, but I can't reach the back of the dress where it fastens together!" she snapped back in annoyance. "I was going to ask you if you could undo the back for me.." she trailed off as her cheeks began to grow hot, and not because of the fire that now warmed the cave.

"Keh…whatever."

She turned her back to him as he began fiddling with the back of her gown. She could tell he was getting frustrated.

Damn thing! Why did women's clothing have to be so. Damn. **_complicated_**! His claws were getting in the way when he tried to unfasten some of the latches.

He started growling in frustration until finally he came to a resolution.

Her eyes widened when all she heard was a growl and then suddenly a loud tearing of fabric.

Her dress peeled away from her skin on her back as he slid his claws through the silk.

He couldn't' help but to stare a bit as her creamy, porcelain skin revealed itself to him. He also couldn't keep himself from brushing his fingers against it, feeling how soft and smooth it was to the touch, thinking it would go unnoticed as he started to lightly tug the sleeves of the dress off of her.

It didn't.

Her eyes widened even more when she felt his calloused fingers innocently stroke her back… her body grew warm all over again as she kept telling herself he didn't do it on purpose.

"Ummm…thank you…I can finish changing now." She stammered.

As if he was burned with fire, he quickly retracted his hands from the sleeves of her dress, and hid his blush before she turned around to make sure he wasn't looking as she completed her change in outfit.

Once she was all settled in she made to sit across from Inuyasha in front of the fire. As if to break the silence, her stomach growled.

"Hungry?.."

She blushed and nodded as she looked down to avoid his gaze. How embarrassing!

"The good animals are probably sleeping in their dens now, so it would take a while for me to actually find a good one, but I think I saw a few fruit bearing trees on the way here."

Looking up at him, she saw him raise his eyebrow in question at her. "Umm, I suppose that would be fine, if you don't mind…its really not a big deal…I mean…I could always wait until tom-"

"Oh shut up, I'll be right back." He stood and made to leave until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned his head to see Kagome gazing at his countenance with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Be careful would you? Soldiers could be lurking about anywhere."

He stared at her for a moment in silence. "Keh, I'll be fine wench, no need to worry. I'll be back before you know it!"

With that said he bounded off into the night

Kagome sat back down in front of the fire, thinking to herself.

What was she to do _now_? What about Sango? She had left her best friend at the castle! Maybe she is out there looking for her, worried sick!

Oh, what was she supposed to do? How could she contact her, or even her family, her mother especially?? What if Naraku decides to kill her family because of her impudence?!

She shook those kinds of thoughts from her head as she tried to focus on more positive things.

Well, at least now she wouldn't have to worry about being trapped in that god awful marriage…

She would have to find some way to contact her family and tell them to get to safety…and also find Sango…

How she already missed her companionship! Inuyasha strikes her as….well…very antisocial…

She wondered about his family and whether he will go to see them when this is all said and done, assuming they made it out alive.

As if on cue, said person deposited a load of fruit before her.

"Wow…thank you so much! This is so much….you're going to help me eat it right?"

"Keh…sure…I don't see why not." He grabbed himself a few pieces and practically inhaled the food.

Before taking a bite, Kagome watched him eat rather thoughtfully.

_This must be one of the first times in a long time that Inuyasha could eat like this…they practically starved him back in the castle_…

He could feel her staring at him and began to grow annoyed. "What are you staring at?! You were hungry, so eat!"

Snapping her gaze back to the fire as she began to nibble on the fruit, she began to wonder about his family again.

"Say, Inuyasha?"

His grunt was the only acknowledgement that he was listening to her.

"Umm…I was wondering…now that you're free, are you going to be able to see your family again?"

He momentarily froze on the spot, telling Kagome she must have hit a nerve.

He didn't look at her, but instead looked in the flames of the fire. "I don't have any family…"

Her heart swelled with pity. What would she do if she had no kin? How horrible it would be to live that way….

"I don't want your damn pity woman…it pisses me off." He growled.

"I'm sorry…I just….well…" she struggled to find something to say until it hit her, " hey, how about after everything settles down, you can come and live with me and my family? I'm sure they would love to have you…"

He snorted rather indignantly, "Keh. The day a human household would take me in will be the day blue roses sprout from under my nose."

She cocked her head in confusion. "Ehh…?"

"That means its never going to happen idiot!"

"Well…why not?"

"Because, I'm half demon, and humans don't like me because of that…" he said, as if it was rather obvious.

She stared at him, completely taken aback that he thought such a thing. "Well, _I_ like you."

His gaze snapped back up to her, a blush rising on his cheeks once again. "K-Keh….whatever wench…you should get some sleep, I don't want to hear any complaining about being tired tomorrow when we hit the road."

"Where are we going?"

"We can't stay in one spot, they'll find us if we do, so until I can figure out a plan to get rid of that bastard, Naraku, for good, we have to keep moving…"

"Ah, I see…ok then, well…thank you for the food…it was wonderful." She yawned and bid him goodnight.

She crawled away from the fire and scooped up her wedding gown. Rolling it up, she used it as a sort of pillow to soften the hard rocky surface that was her bed for the night.

"Aren't you going to go to sleep Inuyasha?"

"I don't need to sleep as much as you pathetic humans do…just shut up and go to bed."

Trying not to take his harsh talk seriously, she nodded her head and laid down, and watched Inuyasha put out the fire before finally closing her eyes to retire for the night.

It had been a long day after all…

And tomorrow was almost promised to be as well.

She had finally fallen asleep, he could tell by the way her breathing became even and shallow.

He silently crept over to her, and brushed some loose tendrils of her silky hair behind her ear, and slid his claws down to lightly stroke her cheek.

He would never tell her this, but she looked pretty damn good wearing his clothes…

Just as quietly as he had crept over to her, he moved away and found himself a spot to prop his back against, holding his sword to him as if it were his lifeline.

Even though he had told her that he didn't need to sleep, he was feeling pretty wore out himself, and eventually gave in to the sleep that had been calling out to him for a while now.

* * *

A/N: thank you for the reviews, its good to know that people really do like this story…once again, sorry for the short chapter, I thought this one could be a little longer, but it just wasn't coming to me… I'll try to have the next one up as soon as possible.

Until next time!

-Jinju-


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! It means a lot to me! The more reviews, the more likely people will read the story, and that makes me happy :

* * *

**GLADIATOR**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

The birds were singing outside and the sunlight had already completed its journey into the depths of the cave when Inuyasha woke up. 

Still a bit groggy, he took in his surroundings. He must have slept _way_ past noon at least…

He was about to let himself drift off again until…

Where was Kagome?!

His eyes snapped open, oh, he was wide awake now. He desperately searched every corner of the cave, all that was left was the crumpled wedding gown.

He sniffed around, and found her scent to be old, that meant she had been gone for a while now…

His heart was doing back flips and his mind was racing, trying to come up with some sensible reason as to why Kagome was gone. Taking one last look around, he turned around to dash out of the cave in search of the raven haired woman.

"Oof! Inuyasha! What's the big idea?!" he smashed into the object of his search.

He must have been so preoccupied with worrying about her, that he didn't catch her scent coming up from behind him…

As he shook his head to clear the effects of the collision, he noticed all of the fruit that had made its way onto the floor of the cave.

Without another word she bent down and started to pick up the mess.

"Where the hell were you?!!" he practically roared.

She flinched a little bit at the volume of his shout, "I just went to gather some food for you since you did so for me last night! Is that so bad?!!!"

"If you need food, then just tell me, and I'll get you some, otherwise, STAY PUT! I still don't see what took you so long…" he grumbled out, letting his annoyance cover up the relief swelling through his chest at the moment.

"Well, you see…there was a fruit in this one tree that I wanted to get for you, since you seemed to eat that one more than the others last night…I figured it was your favorite out of the bunch, and I really wanted you to have it, but it was out of my reach…."

He cocked his eyebrow at this.

She stood there looking down at the ground shyly, tracing imaginary circles in the ground with her right foot. "I tried to climb the tree to get you the good ones…and I fell a few times, but I eventually got some…here!" she whipped out the fruit she was referring to and offered it to him.

"T-thanks…you didn't have to…" he stuttered, very surprised she would go to those lengths to get him something that she thought he would like…

He took the offering, assuring her that next time he would gather food, "It's my duty to you, the female, to provide you with things like that…"

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Keh, because, females are too weak to do things like that on their own, the fact that you fell down gathering some fruit tells me so too. So no arguments."

She was about to say something but she shut her mouth and made her way over to her crumpled dress, biting into a fruit as she went.

Inuyasha had begun eating his food, but paused when he heard the ripping of fabric. He turned to find her pulling the pearls off of the hems of her dress.

She noticed him staring, "I'm taking off all of the pearls, and then I'll work on the sapphires in the tiara, but I think I will need your help with that... We can get some money for these, and then instead of sleeping in a cave, we can stay at an inn somewhere, far away from the castle, where no one has seen me." She looked down at herself, "and also, so I can get some new clothes, I'm sure you want your haori back..."

He grunted his acknowledgement, so she continued with her task at hand.

After a few hours of pulling, picking, and ripping, she had managed to get nearly 5 handfuls of pearls and a handful of rather large sapphire gems. "These should definitely fetch a lot of money…probably enough to live off of for years!"

She ripped some more fabric, and with a little bit of effort, managed to create a makeshift sack to put the pearls and sapphires in.

He didn't say it out loud, but, he had to admit to himself that she was pretty resourceful for a young lady of her status.

"I'm ready to go when your ready Inuyasha…do you think we can stop by a nearby village? I'm sure the word hasn't gotten this far yet of what happened…"

"Of course it hasn't yet, it would take at least three days on horseback to get here from the castle, I could outrun those idiots anytime, no problem at all." He bragged, "So yeah, we'll go to a village nearby, I saw fires coming from over there while I was in the trees getting some fruit last night."

He motioned with his head for her to follow him out of the cave.

As he got down on one knee, she looked at him in confusion, waiting for him to get up.

"Come on! We ain't got all day! Get on my back!" he ordered.

"Oh, I thought you wanted to walk-" she was cut off as he practically threw her onto his back, and after checking to see if she was carrying her bag of jewels, bounded out of the cave quicker than the speed of light.

She squealed initially out of fright, but those soon turned into that of joy, wrapping her arms more contentedly around his thick upper body.

This of course, didn't go unnoticed.

The hanyou smirked his silent satisfaction and bounded along, going a little bit slower than his usual…hmm…wonder why? -wink-

When they finally reached the village, her hair was a complete mess, adding to her already scruffy appearance.

"I really, really, _really_, need to bathe…Sir," she called out to a nearby villager, "Do you know where I could get fresh clothes and a bath?"

Even if word had gotten out this far about her "kidnapping", no one would recognize her in this state anyhow…

He looked her up and down as she asked this, oh yes, she DID need a bath and some new clothes….his thoughts stopped there as he visibly jumped upon seeing Inuyasha.

Gulping, he nodded and guided her to the village market square, what surprised him were the jewels she pulled out to pay for her new garments of silk.

Inuyasha looked on rather boringly as she ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the rich, silky texture of the kimonos. When she was finished, she had only used one sapphire, one of the bigger ones, but still, just one altogether.

She purchased two blue and one coral colored kimonos, all of which were very intricate and stunning to the eye of the beholder, as well as a bag she could use to carry her belongings in. She asked Inuyasha if he wanted anything but he just kept refusing the entire time.

Grinning from ear to ear, they left the market place and she followed the directions the old villager had given her while she was shopping to a nearby hot spring. "Now to have a nice, hot, bath…" she sighed in pleasure at the thought of bathing herself.

She came to the edge of a quaint forest, and continued her journey inside to her destination. When she reached the hot spring she looked around to find that there was no one else there, and began to strip herself of the haori.

That is, until she remembered Inuyasha was with her.

And there he was, with his hands behind his head, staring at her as if her getting naked before him was absolutely the most natural thing in the world.

She turned and narrowed her eyes at him, "Inuyasha…."

Rolling his eyes upwards he leapt up into the canopy of trees and out of sight, "Keh! Stupid girl…"

She peered up into the branches, but could find no trace of him. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided if she couldn't see him, then more than likely he couldn't see her, so she finished undressing, folding the haori neatly beside the edge of the spring, and slowly lowered herself in.

Reveling in the way the water scorched her skin, she let herself sink until the water reach her chin, and began blowing some bubbles into the water.

Wow…here she was, kami knows where…with a hanyou, running away from her fiancé…how awkward is this going to get?...

Her brows knitted together in concentration.

She had to get to her family before Naraku does, just in case he tries to pull something sleezy, and she had to find a way to contact her friend Sango…

She was so focused on her inner thoughts that she didn't notice the silver hair hanging from one of the branches above the spring.

He smiled to himself as he looked down on her form, her own natural scent wafted up towards him, being carried along with the rising steam of the spring. It was as If it was drugging him, he thought, as he hung there slothfully.

She hadn't noticed him up there, thank kami, so for now, he would enjoy the view.

Besides, she looked kinda cute when she made that face…

He had stealthily made his way over her when she wasn't paying attention, more to watch out for her safety, but hey, he wouldn't deny to himself that in the back of his mind he wanted to see more of her…

So, there he was, his limbs and hair dangling visibly above, but unknowingly to her, as she continued to try and formulate some sort of plan.

Reality hit him like a ton of bricks as she began to wash her hair, slightly moaning as she did so.

His mouth slightly hung open as the top of her derriere revealed itself to him, as well as the smooth skin of her back, glistening from the heat of the spring, while she was bent over running her fingers through her inky black hair.

Gulping, he tried to get a hold of himself and told himself he should leave right about now, but almost lost his control when she stood and began to wash herself _down_ _there…_

The little mews coming from the back of her throat put a halt to anymore thoughts of moving away from the spring.

He almost let out a low growl in response, but caught himself before it could be released. Blushing like a madman, he forced himself away from the scene.

She had just finished washing her womanhood when a few leaves fell into the spring from above.

Blue eyes examined the trees above, but found nothing. Shrugging, she made her way out of the spring and slipped into one of her new azure kimonos, picking up the top of Inuyasha's haori as she went.

"Inuyasha? Hey! I'm sure you can hear me…where'd you go?" she called out to him, but got no reply.

She turned around only to crash into a tree.

Rubbing her nose she looked up to realize that the "tree" was Inuyasha's chest…

"Oww…what did you do that for?" she murmured, still rubbing her nose. The poor thing felt as if it had cracked for the _second_ time that day…

He cocked one of his eyebrows as he looked down at her in what she thought was a very dominant sort of way.

"You were looking for me, and here I am, so what are you complaining about?" he bent down to grab his top that had fallen with her to the ground, and pulled it over his head, shrugging it back into place.

Every time he looked at her, the memories of her in the spring kept flooding his vision.

He began to growl softly, which made her snap her head up towards him. She noticed he looked a little spaced out, and tugged on his pants a bit, snapping him back to reality.

He looked down at her once more and held out his hand, lifting her off the ground, and abruptly started trekking back out of the forest.

She followed after him, a bit confused at his behavior, but decided to keep quiet about it.

It was well into the evening when they made it back to the village, so she decided to rent out a place to stay, a room with a nice fireplace. She noticed all of the villagers staring rather openly at Inuyasha, and gave him a rather large leeway to walk through.

Some of them even had the gall to glare at him.

What did he ever do to them?

They had no right to stare at him like that….

Poor Inuyasha…

When they got to a decent inn, the innkeeper kept glaring at Inuyasha as she spoke with Kagome about the prices.

All Kagome had to do was flash a few pearls and the woman quickly consented. "You can have the biggest room available, but that _thing_," she jerked her chin towards Inuyasha, "cannot stay here."

He half expected Kagome to agree and be on her merry way, he didn't mind sleeping in trees that much anyways…

"Umm, excuse me for asking, but why not?" Kagome questioned rather heatedly, catching Inuyasha's attention.

The innkeeper scoffed, "Dear child, he will scare off all of my other customers, and I can't have that now can I? I'm sure you understand."

Kagome just nodded and placed her pearls back into her satchel, "I see, well, then I'm sure you can understand that I don't plan to do business with you any longer."

The innkeeper began to splutter out something but stopped as she reached out for Kagome's shoulder, she couldn't afford to lose such a fine customer… "On second thought, he can stay, as long as he is with you at all times, I'll even have an extra futon placed in your room for him…" she pleaded.

Smiling, Kagome turned back around and took the pearls out once again, placing them into the woman's hands, who in turn began guiding her towards their room for the night.

"These are the finest pearls I have ever laid eyes on…" the innkeeper murmured to herself.

Kagome just smirked as the woman bowed down and opened the sliding door to their room for them. They made their way past her, into the room, Inuyasha still amazed at how Kagome had stood up for him back there…

She told them that she would have the finest dinner delivered to their room shortly, and bid them goodnight as she slid the door closed once more.

Inuyasha stood there, trying to replay what just happened in his mind, but was thrown off when he heard Kagome burst into a fit of giggles.

"Did you see the look on that woman's face? How rude of her to imply that _you_ would scare everyone off." She scoffed, but still smiling, "You couldn't scare a fly!"

"Oi! I could too scare a fly…I'm a vicious demon remember?" he pouted.

"Oh come now Inuyasha, I'm just kidding. I must admit, you did look rather intimidating when I first saw you, but now I have to say that I'm not afraid of you at all." She giggled.

"Oh really now? Not even if I do….THIS?!!" he yelled as he pounced on her, knocking her to the floor as laughter filled the room.

They rolled around, wrestling a little bit, until there came a knock on the door.

Straightening her hair back into place with her fingers, Kagome sat up and cleared her throat. "Yes?"

"Mistress, I have your supper for this evening if you wish to partake in it now…"

"Please do come in, and thank you." She called back out to the maid.

The door slid open, and as promised, trays and trays of food were brought in before them.

Once the doors were closed again and the servants had left, Inuyasha wasted no time and began inhaling his food.

As they were eating, Kagome proposed the idea of locating her friend Sango tomorrow. He refused for a little while, but eventually caved in at her persistence.

After they were finished, they set the trays outside of their door against the wall in the hallway, and immediately collapsed onto their individual futons, absolutely content as can be.

"Inuyasha?"

His usual grunt let her know he heard her.

"Is this the first time you got to do something like this?" she bit her lip, wondering if she was treading too deeply…

"What do you mean?" he sighed as he closed his eyes.

"I mean uhh…like…being carefree like this?" she offered.

"No…not that I can remember, maybe I did once when I was a little kid and my mother was still alive, but…other than that, no…" he spoke in hushed tones.

She was about to delve into the subject of his mother a bit more when she saw him reach over towards her.

She let out a surprised squeak when he tugged her futon next to his, to the point where if she were to roll over she would practically be against his chest.

"I-Inuyasha..? What did you do that for?..." she audibly gulped, trying to force down the blush that began creeping its way onto her cheeks.

His eyes were closed as he rested his arm in the space between them. Shrugging he answered, "I don't know…I never really slept with someone close by me like this since I've been captured by that bastard, and, I have to admit that it feels kinda nice…" he murmured.

He must have been half asleep, because there was no way he could have been awake when he said "You know…you smell …really nice…" He inhaled her scent as he pulled her into him, wrapping an arm around her rather possessively.

She went rigid with shock as she felt his even breathing tickling the tiny hairs on the back of her neck.

She stared at the wall opposite to her for what seemed an eternity, before she gave into the warmth that was pressing into her back and fell into a deep slumber…

Tomorrow they would go find Sango, and from there, get her family to safety…and hopefully, when everything was said and done, Inuyasha would stay with her and her family…

* * *

A/N: There, how'd you like that? Some fluffy scenes, yes, I know. I figured I owed it to those of you out there getting anxious over the way Inuyasha treats Kagome. Well, please read and review, I'm wanting to reach at least 55 reviews before the next chapter. This time, please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see in the storyline, and who knows, maybe I'll work it in. : like…whether or not kouga should make an appearance.?? Let me know what you guys want! 

Until next time,

-Jinju-


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

A/N: My computer had crashed, but now I have a new and even better one! Yay! Power to me:3

* * *

**GLADIATOR**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

The sun's rays had come to announce the arrival of dawn as they began to pour through the windows of the room, causing Inuyasha to stir a little.

He slowly opened his eyes and noticed something warm and soft huddled up against him.

Still a bit hazed over from sleeping so contently, he attempted to identify what this thing was that was curled up against his torso.

He cautiously took a whiff of the air above it and the smell of roses immediately washed over his senses.

At that instant his eyes shot open as he realized that the "thing" was really Kagome's sleeping form. How did she get so close to him?! Or…how did he get so close to her?!

If she found out that he was sleeping with her she would probably throw a tantrum, it would be best to try and escape now while he still can….

Carefully, he tried to slide his arm out from under her, as well as disentangle his leg from hers….once that was accomplished he slowly began to scoot away from her tranquil form, but to no avail.

Once he thought that he was a safe enough distance away from her, she began to let out a few mews of protest and leaned right back into his chest.

His heart was practically in his throat. What was he going to do?!

"Mmm.." she began to stir as she clutched the front of his crumpled haori.

His mind was screaming and his heart had already abandoned him at this point, she was going to wake up, and kill him for sleeping with her! He decided then and there to pretend to be sleeping.

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, and she let out a cute little yawn. She then looked up into his face.

He could feel her staring at him…how nerve racking. Just keep pretending to be asleep…everything will be ok if she thinks you didn't know how you got there….which, he really didn't.

What surprised him was when he felt her fingers brushing a few of his stray strands of hair from his face.

So…maybe she really didn't mind him sleeping with her, he mentally smirked to himself in satisfaction. He made a big show of pretending to wake up just then, yawning and stretching his limbs.

"K-Kagome? You're awake…" he whispered.

"Mmhmm, I'll send for some breakfast…" she got up rather quickly and began to straighten out her clothes as she made her way out of the room to call a servant.

He refused to leave the bed until the food had arrived, this time he ate at a more decent pace, trying to match Kagome's manners.

She took notice of this, eyeing him every now and then. "Inuyasha, you don't have to be so proper when you eat with me, it doesn't bother me at all you know." He looked up from his soup at this, and carefully set it down on the tray so as not to spill it on his lap.

"Well…if I'm going to live with your family…then I assumed that I would need table manners so I don't disgrace them…" he answered quietly. A little too quietly…as if he were afraid of getting scolded for his lack of manners.

"Oh Inuyasha, they wouldn't care regardless, my family isn't like that…so I take it that you have decided to stay with us?" the eagerness of her tone when she asked didn't go unnoticed, and it made him rather happy as he nodded in response.

"I figured it probably wouldn't be so bad, I don't really have anywhere else to go anyhow…"

Her eyes softened a bit at his remark as she nodded in acknowledgment and decided not to go too far into that subject, it was rather sensitive. So they finished their breakfast in mostly silence, save for the occasional small talk here and there.

Once finished they decided to prepare to leave in order to search for her friend Sango. Oh how she missed the girl, she was her best friend, practically her sister!

She had never treated her like a measly servant, and never would. She wondered what had happened to her after the whole wedding catastrophe….was she even alive? No, it didn't do any good to think like that…of course Sango was alive, she just knew it! She had that gut feeling….

_**Later on that day… **_

They had been walking towards the castle for what seemed to be hours, carefully hidden by the trees of the forest, should any of the king's soldiers happen to be wandering around.

It really was a beautiful day…it seemed mother nature was mocking her due to her current situation. The anxiety was beginning to pool into her gut as she continued to think about Sango and her family. She hoped with all her might that they were all alive and well…

"Stop worrying about them, they'll be fine."

Kagome's head snapped to look at Inuyasha, how had he known that was what she was thinking about?

"Can you….can you read minds?..." she asked rather weakly.

He rolled his eyes, "Keh, I wish. No, I can't read minds, its just so obvious that your thinking about your friends and family, you can tell by the look on your face…"

She blushed a little at having been read so easily. She opened her mouth to reply but suddenly stopped when she heard a loud slapping sound in the distance.

They looked at each other before Inuyasha threw a protective arm around her, placing her on his back. They bounded off towards the source of the noise, sounds of shouting becoming more clear as they got closer.

"You, YOU LECHER! Why did I _EVER_ agree to let you travel with me?!!!" a woman yelled, clearly ticked off at her companion.

"My dear! You needed protection, a man's protection, and who better to come to your aid in a time such as this other than me?!! I would die before I let you wander the forests alone!" came a man's reply.

"If you don't stop groping me you WILL die and I would happily wander the forests alone! I would rather find my mistress on my own than be constantly pawed at by a hentai like you! A man's protection my ass…now cut it out Miroku!!!"

Kagome's eyes widened at this, how fortunate! Sango was nearby! Albeit, she was being harassed by that young man, but no matter, she was alive!!! That's all that mattered!

Inuyasha had also recognized the voices and began to make his way to their location at a faster rate.

Once they were in sight, Kagome's heart fluttered happily upon seeing her best friend.

"Sango! Sango! You're alive!!!" she yelled, scrambling off his back and running towards the other young woman, leaving a disgruntled hanyou in her wake.

Just as she was about to whack the young man upside the head again, her head shot up, immediately recognizing her long lost friend. "Kagome!!!" she squealed.

They had instantly embraced each other, tears of happiness streaming from each of their eyes. Then came the chattering about the how did you get out here's and the what the heck happened back there's.

Upon noticing Inuyasha standing there with a rather bored expression, Sango ceased all conversation as she ran over to assault him.

All he could do was shield his head from her imminent attack. How belittling, to allow a mere human woman to assault him so. It was a rather funny looking scene if you sat back to think about it…

"You! What have you done with my friend?!! How dare you kidnap her you insolent-"

"Sango! No! Sango! He saved me from that horrid wedding, and has taken care of me since that day! Don't hurt him, I owe him my life!! He's a good guy!" Kagome yelled out to her.

Sango nodded, but still gave Inuyasha a wary glance as she backed away from him, while of course, he gladly returned the favor.

"You could have told me that your friend was crazy ya know…" he muttered. At that Sango shot him a rather murderous stare, efficiently shutting him up.

The man that had been ignored up until this point stood up, cleared his throat and began to speak, dusting his robes off as he went.

"Ahem…it is good to know that you are well lady Kagome, we have been searching for you since the day you went missing."

Kagome bowed her head in greeting, "I am also glad to know that you both are alive and well this day, it pleases me greatly and calms my anxious heart. As much as I would like to speak with the two of you about other things, I would like to know what has happened with the king."

Her friends' countenances had taken on a rather dark look at the mention of the king.

Sango spoke first, "Kagome, the king has sent out troops to try and look for you, he believes that you have been kidnapped and plans to take you back and execute the kidnapper." She nodded her head in Inuyasha's direction.

"Yes Lady Kagome…Sango is right, he intends that you still be his bride, it would seem he is rather obsessed with you and will stop at nothing to take you as his. So, I must say right now, that you will not be able to run away and hide forever…" Miroku put in rather sadly.

"Keh! That's why I'm going to kill him before he lays a hand on her!" Inuyasha bellowed in response, as if it were obvious that was going to be the case.

Miroku looked at him thoughtfully, "It won't be that easy, he still possesses a large part of the shikon no tama, speaking of which, we have the shards that you have removed from the slaves Lady Kagome." He gestured towards Sango, who nodded and reached into her clothing to pull out a pouch that had a faint glow around it.

"I grabbed it from your room before me and Miroku made our getaway." She handed the pouch to Kagome, who looked at it in awe. "Naraku thought that we had something to do with your kidnapping and was already looking for us by the time we decided to leave. So we fled rather hastily in hopes of finding you in a nearby village or something."

"Wh-what am I supposed to do with these?" Kagome wondered, examining the glowing shards that lay within. They began to glow even brighter when she touched them.

"Well, you see," Miroku started to answer, "as long as Naraku doesn't have the completed jewel, we may have some sort of a chance at defeating him as Inuyasha here has so blatantly put it."

"Ah, I see…as long as I can keep these shards pure, then he doesn't have any control over them, and the more the jewel is missing, the weaker its power becomes." She concluded.

Happy that she understood, Miroku bowed his head in respect, "That is correct…"

Smiling at him in return, she turned back to her friend and began chattering away, the two women started to walk away, much to the mens' protests, but seemed to throw deaf ears towards them.

Inuyasha and Miroku were left alone in the small clearing of the woods to stare at the fading backs of the two women.

Miroku looked over at Inuyasha, a bit nervously, "So uhh….I guess it's just me and you buddy….heh…"

"Keh, whatever…" he rolled his eyes and began to follow Kagome's scent to wherever it was she was going.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" Miroku trailed after him anxiously, eventually fading into the forest backdrop as well.

* * *

A/N: Wow, I was surprised, I got exactly 55 reviews, lol. How funny. This time I suppose I should be looking for a bigger review turnout, haha, thank you guys for reviewing! I wanted to cut this chapter in order to prepare the next one more readily, so, I'm sorry if it doesn't satisfy you as much as it should have.

Until next time!

-Jinju-


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

* * *

**GLADIATOR**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

His fiancé has been stolen from him, a large piece of his castle lay in shambles, and not a trace of the culprit or the lovely Kagome has been found… he would find the one responsible, and they would pay….dearly… 

The king sat in his throne, his fingers stroking his chin in that malicious, calculating sort of way. No longer was he aloof when it came to his surroundings, he was more than ready for anything, above alert, he was ready to pounce if given the chance….his deep and penetrating eyes had glazed over, leaving the cold feeling of hatred emanating from the very depths of his being.

His soldiers stood before him, most of which were quite nervous, the way the king had been acting the past few days was grating on their nerves, and making them anxious. Silence had filled the large hall, save for the occasional shuffling of feet against the stone floor when one of the soldiers shifted from one foot to the other.

That is until one of them stepped forward, and had to keep himself from cringing back when the king's gaze had come back to life and instead had focused on him. The poor soldier audibly gulped before clearing his throat to speak. "Your majesty…" he lowered himself onto one knee, showing his respect, "may I ask what you wish us to do next?"

He didn't dare to look up the entire time the conversation was held, for fear of the king's cruel stare. "Ah…right then…so, tell me first, have you found anything pertaining to the whereabouts of my fiancé?" his voice ricocheted off the hard stone walls, creating a sort of booming effect.

"N-No sir…I regret to announce that we haven't."

"And what of the demon Inuyasha? Or any of the demons for that matter? They all had something of great importance to me…"

"We….we haven't heard anything of them either your majesty…"

"I see…" he stroked his chin again thoughtfully, "I can also tell the state of the kingdom is slowly deteriorating…I want all of the troops to prepare for any rioting that may occur near the castle gates." Without any demons to put in the fighting ring, there were no longer any distractions from the poor state of the people, they would see their lives for what they were worth and become angry….that was no good for Naraku…

"Your majesty, but what about Lady Kagome? I thought you wished for every man to be searching for her?"

The king chuckled, the sound like dark, rich velvet, filling the empty void of the hall. "I think I have just the right person for the job, I only need one man, he shall be more than enough to bring her back to me….do not trouble yourselves with it, you are dismissed."

They all bowed and took their leave, their eagerness to run off was obvious by the way they filed out of the room. No matter….

The king's eyes took on that glazed look once again, as he started piecing things together.

He was pretty sure that his fiancé had something to do with the escape of his demon gladiators, the feisty little bitch… no matter, he would have her for himself, and he would take her in front of someone he was almost sure was behind all of this.

Inuyasha….

That filthy half-breed…

If he just cast the lady Kagome aside and found another woman, there would be no satisfaction in that, no….her body, he wanted her so badly….and once he captured her and that dirty hanyou, he would bed her, and make sure that Inuyasha was either watching or was nearby to hear all of her screams of pleasure fill the room while he was inside of her…let him hear what he could never attain…yes…the look in his eyes…priceless…

It became obvious that the half-demon had taken a liking to his fiancé, he could see it in his eyes, which is why he wished to dangle her on a string before his eyes, taunt him, like holding a wonderful toy in front of a child but never letting them have it.

It was pure delight, imagining all of the torture he planned to inflict upon that mutt…

Inuyasha…

He would pay.

* * *

"Oh Kagome, this kimono is so beautiful! I grew so tired of wearing all of those silly western style dresses…" Sango said as she spun about in one of the coral colored kimonos Kagome had given her. 

Kagome just smiled in return, giving her friend an appreciative stare, "Well, it looks even more beautiful on you Sango, keep it, I have plenty of jewels left to purchase other kimonos. It might feel a bit awkward traveling around in it for a while, but you get used to it." She giggled.

"Ah, I could see why, but I'm sure I'll grow accustomed to it, thank you so much Kagome! I don't believe I have ever worn anything so fine…"Sango gushed.out happily, still high on happiness due to the fact that she had found her best friend, who could have very well have been dead or killed, yet she was well and alive, and now they were together again.

She took one more look at herself before slipping the kimono off, she was still pretty dirty from her travels and Kagome had told her that Inuyasha said there was a hot spring nearby. After asking Inuyasha which way to go in order to get there the two young women headed off towards the awaiting indulgence, chatting along the way.

In the small clearing that they had just left sat Inuyasha and Miroku, Inuyasha being perched upon a tree branch, and Miroku lounging against the very same tree trunk below.

Miroku's eyes searched the opening, eyes taking in his surroundings in case anything happened, before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "Do you really think its ok to let them wander off by themselves like that?" he asked.

There came no answer for a while, so he opened his eyes and was about to look up at Inuyasha and repeat himself when the hanyou finally muttered a reply.

"I would rather them go off to bathe the way they are without you following them. From what I can tell they're in more danger if you were to follow than if they were to go alone but stay within hearing distance for me…..lecher…"

Miroku scoffed in return, "Don't you dare try to tell me that you have never wished to see what is under a woman's shield of clothing…and even though their innocence may be broken due to my presence, I am not solely intending on pursuing them, I am also looking out for their safety."

Growling, Inuyasha hopped down from his perch, landing mere inches from Miroku's lounging spot, effectively frightening the poor man. "Keh, as long as there is a female's body part exposed to you, you wouldn't be able to sense a goddamn knife to their back even if I strapped your eyes wide open you idiot…" he muttered, storming off into the woods.

Smirking at his back, he could hear some of the strings of curses coming from the other man's mouth. "I like you too Inuyasha!" he exalted, knowing full well the hanyou could hear him. A sigh escaped from his parted lips as he leaned his head back once more, closing his eyes to resume his state of relaxation.

He would just have to get a peek at the lovely ladies another time…Inuyasha was already having a go…he smiled to himself once more.

* * *

"So, how did you guys find us so quickly?"

Kagome was helping Sango wash her hair as she leaned back into the ministrations, closing her eyes in complete bliss before replying.

"Well, we had actually taken a horse from the royal stables since everyone was going this way and that due to the chaos Inuyasha caused, nobody had noticed us at all."

Kagome paused in her attentions and furrowed her brow in confusion. "But, I could have sworn I didn't see a horse in your company, is it tied up somewhere in the woods back there?"

Sango stood up abruptly, and began to brush imaginary dirt off of her shoulders before crossing her arms in frustration. "No, in fact, we have no idea where the horse went off to, we were riding along and Miroku had continuously groped my rear, so I finally got fed up with it the other day and I let him have it!" She fisted her hand into the air to exemplify just that, before letting her shoulders slump in defeat, "but because I did that the horse got frightened and began to buck, so we fell off, and the horse had run away…"

"Oh you poor thing, so you have been walking for the past day or so?" Kagome clucked her tongue in sympathy.

A sigh escaped her parted lips, "Yes, we've been on foot for a while, but it's a good thing you were coming our way when we just happened to going your way, so we met in the middle, otherwise I don't think we ever would have found you!"

"I had actually just convinced Inuyasha to help me find you the other day, so we were heading back towards the castle in hopes of spotting you somewhere…if worse came to worst I was going to go back into the castle itself to get you out of there…"

Sango's eyes widened at her friend's loyalty, "Oh Kagome! You have no need to put yourself in danger for me…well, enough of this morbid talk, let's just relax, and we'll figure out where to go from here later ok?" she offered a small smile to the raven haired woman.

"Of course Sango…"

* * *

Sango had just left the hot spring when he arrived, he made sure to be extra tactful when finding the perfect hiding spot above Kagome. 

So what if that bastard had been right? Its not like he'd had the privilege of being able to talk to someone from the other sex in kami knows how long! Let alone, anyone as beautiful as Kagome….

He'd been practically chained up in that old cell back in the castle for a good while now...although he didn't know what fate had in store for him now, he wasn't going to pass up this chance to see his savior naked! How funny…

Here he was again, getting drunk with her scent….the smell of rose petals drifting from her very core, it was as if it were searching for him, reaching out to him….calling him to her…

The hot water glistened on her porcelain skin, the natural heat letting its presence be known via puffs of steam caressing her form, following her every move as she cleansed herself.

Looking as if he were under a spell, he licked his lips in anticipation when once again she reached down to clean her core. Last time he had shied away, but this time, he forced himself to stay, but kept his _other_ head in check while those soft, delicate mews began cascading out of her elegant throat.

He could smell her arousal, and could tell she was every inch a virgin. With looks such as hers, she shouldn't be a virgin, and kami only knows how she had stayed one for this long, and to think that bastard Naraku would have had her to himself had he not sabotaged the wedding.

His lip curled back in a snarl at the thought of that insolent prick who deemed himself worthy to be king. Shaking those displeasing thoughts from his head he trained his attention once again on his beautiful redeemer…

Does she always touch herself when she bathes? Maybe that's how she has gone this long as a virgin…if it were up to him, she would never need to do such a thing for as long as he lived, he would give her ridiculously large shares of pleasure that would fulfill her to the very core of her being. No longer would she have to resort to this…although he had to admit that he liked watching her in the process of doing it….

She had reached the peak of her mounting gratification and threw her head back, letting out what sounded to him like a very primitive moan. As she looked ahead from behind heavy-lidded eyes, she let out a chain of short, exotic pants, tendrils of her inky black hair clung to her creamy skin, which was currently flushed a beautiful pink color, giving her an almost ethereal appearance…

This was his cue to leave, the show was over, and if he was still here when she came back to her senses he wouldn't live to see another day! He quietly made his way away from the scene just before she decided to lean back and look up into the canopy of trees. –phew-

That was really close…

She knew he was there…

She didn't see him, but she could feel his presence there. Kagome smirked to herself. So, Inuyasha likes to watch her bathe huh? She knew better than to question him about it; it would be better off if she didn't say anything and kept it to herself, not until the time was right. Whenever that would be….

At least she knew _somebody_ found her attractive without blatantly feeling her up. Well….he might as well have, because that was what he was doing with his eyes instead of his hands, but for some strange reason, she didn't seem to care too much. Since when did her body become so aware of his presence nearby?

It was as if they were somehow connected by their auras….nah, that's rather silly. She shook her head of such thoughts, flinging water about as she did so, and began to make her way out of the spring to slip on her remaining kimono. This coral color really brought out the color of her hair…she had taken a liking to it, but decided it could never replace the color blue in her book.

Once she was fully clothed she made her way into the small clearing where they had settled down to rest at, the sun was starting to become lazy and droop its way down to the horizon above the trees, and speaking of which, in one of the nearby trees sat Inuyasha. There he was, looking indifferent, with his head propped up against his arms, leaning on the trunk and his eyes closed, as if he hadn't been spying on her just a few minutes ago.

He felt her staring at him and chose that moment to open his eyes and hold her stare for what seemed like eternity. A small blush crept its way onto his cheeks as he muttered something under his breath and turned the other way.

Carefully making her way over to where Sango was sitting on what seemed like a blanket, she noticed her friend was searching through a rather large yellow pack of some sort. Why hadn't she noticed it before? It was rather hideous actually…

Looking up at her arrival, Sango scooted over to allow her to sit down next to her. "What are you doing?"

She smiled a bit at her friend's curiosity, it would be the death of her one day, "I had brought some plain yukatas for you in case I ever found you, which, I did, thank kami, I was going through this bag to find any leftover food, but I have yet to find even a crumb…" her head sank a bit at the prospect of not having anything to eat.

As if on cue, Kagome's stomach growled rather obnoxiously, bringing forth a giggle from her friend and a blush on her own part.

Hearing the loud display of hunger, Inuyasha got down from his resting spot and motioned for Miroku to follow him into the woods.

"Um, what do you need Inuyasha?" he was a bit at a loss for words, he didn't know what the hanyou wanted.

He paused in his sauntering towards the forest and looked back at him out of the corner of his eye, "I need you to come with me so we can gather food, and I figure two are better than one. I can hunt for some meat and you can go look for something else that's edible out here, or you can just come with me."

After thinking for a moment, Miroku smiled, "I think I would rather go with you, I need to learn how to catch a good meal now and then, it wouldn't hurt, I think it would actually be kind of fun…"

* * *

The two men were walking back in the direction Inuyasha said the camp site was, Inuyasha lugging a large deer on his shoulder while Miroku carried a few rabbits and a large sprig of berries he had broken off of a bush.

The poor man was sorely embarrassed in his lack of wild game, and the awkward silence wasn't exactly making him feel any better.

Miroku cleared his throat and slowed his pace just a bit, forcing the hanyou to either walk slower or walk ahead alone. Inuyasha might not feel comfortable around people but that didn't mean he would take their company for granted when given the opportunity. "So Inuyasha…I was wondering, what happened with the king, as in, how you came to be enslaved in the first place…?"

Inuyasha had slowed his trudging to match that of Miroku's, but didn't answer.

"I apologize, it isn't my place to ask-"

"That asshole used the shikon no tama to depress my demon strength, as long as he holds it, the jewel is corrupted, and under his control." He interrupted, staring off into the distance ahead of him. When Miroku didn't say anything in return, he continued, "I was minding my own business one day, a long time ago, actually I was looking for a friend of my father's to ask him about the fang he left me, but I was ambushed by a bunch of blockheads."

Miroku studied the hanyou's facial expressions as he told his story, "So the king sent a group of men to capture you?"

"Yeah, they used a fragment of the shikon no tama to weaken me enough to where they could restrain me, and brought me to Naraku. That's when he gave me that goddamn collar with that big chunk of the jewel, I could barely move. He told me he had heard about me from across the lands, and wanted me to be his prized fighter…of course I didn't really have any damn choice in the matter, so they took me away and locked me up like an animal, I had tried to escape plenty of times at first, but because of the jewel I never got very far before they found me and restrained me again."

Despite the gloominess of the tale, Miroku offered him one of his trademark ear-to-ear smiles. "Well, then it is a good thing lady Kagome had entered the picture, otherwise you would still be in that cell…"

There only came a grunt as a response.

"I do believe you have taken a liking to the fair lady, am I right?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks to gawk at him, a blush beginning to form on his cheeks as he began to stutter, "W-what makes you think that? I'm just grateful to her for getting me out of that dump, th-that's all, no feelings involved!!"

Miroku's countenance brightened at this, "Ah! So then it is ok for me to make my move and attempt to woo the lady Kagome!" His cheerfulness came to a halt as he heard a ferocious growl sounding from Inuyasha, drawing a loud gulp on his part in the process.

Inuyasha began to warn the young man through gritted teeth, "You will not lay one hand on her or so help me I will slit your throat….you have your woman, I can already tell you and the other girl are attracted to one another, so keep it that way. I will not allow Kagome to give herself to any man on my watch."

"Unless that man is you I presume?" Miroku's mouth was drawn into a grim line as he studied his companion.

Inuyasha let out a snarl as he turned around and resumed his trek towards the camp, Miroku lagging behind but attempting to keep up, even so he still heard the hanyou's mumbled words.

"If that's the case, then so be it…"

* * *

Inuyasha's temper had simmered down a while ago, he was actually feeling rather content while the group sat and ate around a hand made fire eating and chatting away. He learned more and more about each of his newly acquired companions as the meal drew on. 

Sango had been an orphan before Kagome's family had taken her in as a servant girl, but the two women had hit it off from the start and she was treated as part of the family rather than a servant. Her family had been murdered by a wandering band of demons because they had found out that they were the village's local demon slayers. Despite all of this, she was quite happy and content with how her life was progressing, so long as Kagome was by her side.

Miroku on the other hand was born into a well off type of family, who unfortunately met the same fate as Sango's, and was murdered by demons. His father's good friend Munshin offered him work at the castle under the king, little did he know that work would be cleaning about and tending the stables...

And finally, Kagome…Inuyasha let out a soft sigh as he thought about the raven haired beauty.

Kagome had also come from a fairly rich family background, but tended to be the type of girl to play in the mud, or so she says. Her father had passed away when she was but a child, but the love of her mother and younger brother made up for it. She had an excellent education despite the fact that she was female, and her grandfather had told her she came from a long line of priestesses. That may explain why she was able to purify the jewel shards…

She was sitting across the fire from him, happily munching the food he prepared for them, and laughing as she talked up a storm. Her laughter was like the tinkling of bells, and very appealing to the ear. The darkening sky made the light of the fire clash with the intensity of her heavenly colored gaze as it crinkled here and there with bright smiles on her part.

The atmosphere surrounding the group was warm, in fact, so warm it had Inuyasha reeling and trying to keep up, and not look too suspicious. He'd never been accepted with such ease, with humans no less….and especially not by such a beautiful maiden like Kagome…

Would she ever give herself to him?

Would he accept? Should he offer? If so, when? How?

He mentally shook his head and began trying to focus on Kagome's story of how she pranked her childhood enemy, the cheerful smile on her face…the way her hair shined in the fading light…

Ugh, he couldn't keep his mind on the right track.

He looked down for a while before looking up at her once more.

She would never want to be with someone like him, a hanyou, a dirty half-breed…he has nothing to offer her…

But he would die before he let her give herself to anyone else...

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter, a little more info was given on the group, I believe I aced my finals, muahahaha, that is so awesome!

Until next time!

-Jinju-


End file.
